School's In For Summer? File FAFSA To Pay For It

"The earlier, the better: That’s the advice you’ll hear about filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as the FAFSA. This form is the gateway to college funding such as federal student loans, grants and work-study, and more aid is available if you apply early," Forbes reports.

"But if you need summer funding and are just now filling out the FAFSA, you might not have had the chance to get it in early. As long as you file by June 30, you can still qualify for some types of funding — and it's better to receive some than none at all. Here's what you need to know to tackle the FAFSA with confidence.

1. Ask your school which year’s form to complete

College students might file a FAFSA for summer study if they received a full scholarship for fall and spring and didn’t need financial aid, says Karen McCarthy, director of policy analysis at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.

'The tricky thing about the summer is that it doesn’t neatly fall into one year or the other,' she says. Your school may consider the summer term the end of the 2016-17 school year or the start of 2017-18. Ask the financial aid office which year’s FAFSA to fill out; both are currently live on fafsa.ed.gov. Make sure you submit before your school’s summer financial aid deadline."

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